REPORT  OF  THE 
COMMISSIONER 
FOR  BELGIUM 


+ 


\ 


THE  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS 
Washington,  D.  C. 
MAY  31,  1918 


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Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 

https://archive.org/details/reportofcommissiOOamer 


CONDENSED  STATEMENT  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  ACTIVITIES 
OF  THE  COMMISSION  FOR  BELGIUM, 
AMERICAN  RED  CROSS. 
May  1st,  1918. 

The  Commission  for  Belgium,  American  Red  Cross,  has  its  Head- 
quarters at  Sainte-Adresse,  a  suburb  of  Havre,  which  is  the  seat  of  the 
Belgian  Government.  The  work  of  the  Commission  for  Belgium  is  not 
limited  by  geographical  lines,  but  it  is  intended  to  assist  Belgians,  both 
military  and  civilian,  wherever  they  are  in  need  of  such  assistance,  either 
within  free  Belgium  or  in  allied  countries  or  neutral  countries.  It  is  to 
be  recalled  that  the  greater  part  of  Belgium  is  held  by  the  Germans,  but 
that  approximately  500,000  citizens  of  Belgium  are  refugees  in  England, 
France,  Holland  and  Switzerland,  where  they  are  entirely  cut  off  from 
home  and  from  their  ordinary  and  normal  environments,  resources,  laws, 
customs  and  associates.  These  unhappy  people  are  very  widely  dispersed 
In  the  countries  named  and  are  gathered  in  groups  ranging  from  a  score 
or  so  in  small  villages  to  aggregations  amounting  to  approximately  70,000 
in  Paris,  probably  as  many  in  London,  and  perhaps  30,000  in  Havre. 

The  Belgian  Government  itself  is  established  in  an  alien  land,  its 
usual  revenues  entirely  cut  off,  and  dependent  wholly  upon  money  loaned 
to  it  by  its  allies.  Many  necessary  services  which  would  be  provided  by 
the  Government  in  the  case  of  any  of  the  other  allies  for  instance,  the 
Belgian  Government  cannot  provide  for  its  people  because  of  a  lack  of 
resources  and  a  lack  of  ability  to  solve  the  problems  of  food  and  clothing, 
transportation,  hospital  service,  both  military  and  civil,  the  care  of  chil- 
dren, etc. 

The  Commission  for  Belgium  has  accordingly  undertaken  to  accom- 
modate its  assistance  to  the  peculiar  situation  of  the  Belgian  people. 

It  should  be  added  that  in  addition  to  the  half-million  Belgian  refu- 
gees in  alien  countries,  there  remains  in  the  small  corner  of  Belgium  still 
unconquered,  a  population  of  approximately  100,000  persons  who  live 
under  conditions  of  extreme  difficulty  and  constant  and  extreme  danger 
as  they  are  at  all  times  within  reach  of  the  enemy's  guns  and  are  subject 
tc  constant  bombardment  by  enemy  aviators. 

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For  the  purposes  of  this  summary,  the  work  of  the  Commission  for 
Belgium  will  be  classified  by  a  number  of  headings  which  follow : 

MILITARY  HOSPITALS. 

It  has  been  necessary  for  Belgium  to  send  a  large  proportion  of  her 
sick  and  wounded  soldiers  for  care  into  French  hospitals.  She  has,  how- 
ever, maintained  a  number  of  hospitals  under  the  direct  charge  of  the 
Sanitary  Service  of  her  Army.  The  Red  Cross  has  assisted  the  Belgian 
hospitals  in  the  form  of  important  electrical  apparatus,  halls  of  recreation 
for  the  hospital  patients,  miscellaneous  perishable  hospital  supplies,  games, 
amusements,  etc.  In  the  instance  of  the  Belgian  Red  Cross  Hospital  at 
Wulveringhem,  the  Commission  for  Belgium  has  contributed  largely  to 
the  construction  of  a  new  hospital  which  the  Belgian  Red  Cross  was  un- 
able to  complete  from  its  own  funds. 

The  military  hospitals  which  the  Commission  for  Belgium  has  aided 

are : 

In  Belgium : 

La  Panne, 

Wulveringhem, 

Beveren, 

Hoogstadt, 

Cabour. 
In  France : 

Le  Havre, 

Auberville, 

Angerville. 

These  hospitals  accommodate  a  total  of  approximately  5,000  patients. 

A  building  for  the  blind  has  been  erected  at  the  hospital  for  the  re- 
education of  the  mutiles  at  Porte-Villez. 

Advanced  surgical  posts  are  now  being  provided  for  the  instant  care 
of  those  suffering  from  wounds  which  cannot  bear  transportation  to  hos- 
pitals. Necessary  surgical  equipment  for  first  line  surgeons  is  also  being 
provided  on  an  extensive  scale. 

WELFARE  WORK  FOR  SOLDIERS. 

The  Belgian  Army  is  cut  off  from  its  own  country.  The  families  of 
most  of  the  soldiers  are  in  occupied  Belgium.  The  soldiers,  in  many 
thousands  of  instances,  have  had  no  word  from  their  families  for  more 

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than  three  years.  When  they  get  permission  to  leave  the  front  for  a 
short  rest,  they  cannot  go  home,  but  must  go  among  strangers,  many  of 
whom  do  not  understand  their  language. 

The  Belgian  soldier  receives  pay  amounting  to  approximately  9  cents 
per  day.  This  does  not  permit  him  to  accumulate  any  savings.  He  can- 
not pay  the  expenses  involved  in  going  away  from  the  front  for  rest,  even 
when  he  has  permission  to  do  so.  The  result  of  this  is  that  thousands  of 
these  men  have  had  no  furlough  since  the  war  began ;  no  chance  to  get 
away  for  a  taste  of  normal  life,  rest  or  enjoyment.  No  fact  is  more  fully 
recognized  than  that  soldiers  must  have  an  occasional  opportunity  to  get 
away  from  the  monotony  and  the  rigors  and  privations  of  life  at  the  front, 
if  they  are  to  retain  their  spirit  and  their  health. 

The  Commission  for  Belgium  is  doing  what  it  can  to  remedy  this 
unhappy  situation  among  the  Belgian  soldiers.  Following  is  a  partial 
enumeration  of  some  of  the  measures  adopted  for  this  purpose,  always 
in  full  cooperation  with  the  Belgian  military  authorities  and  with  recog- 
nized private  agencies. 

The  work  may  be  divided  under  a  number  of  heads.  Little  clothing 
is  given  to  men  on  active  service,  as  the  uniforms  and  equipment  are 
issued  by  the  Government. 

Food  is  supplied  through  three  types  of  organizations — canteens, 
which  serve  meals  and  hot  drinks  at  centers  where  the  clientele  is  con- 
stantly changing,  as  supplements  to  the  regular  rations,  and  messes, 
where  small  regular  groups  take  their  two  meals  a  day.  The  third  type 
is  represented  by  restaurants  for  permissionaries  (men  on  furlough). 

Shelter  is  given  either  in  the  form  of  recreation  tents  or  barracks 
for  theatrical  entertainments  and  cinemas,  libraries,  reading-rooms,  and 
canteens,  or  occasionally  as  sleeping  accommodations. 

Recreation  work  takes  the  form  of  athletic  equipment  and  prizes, 
books  for  libraries  and  individuals,  theatrical  entertainments,  phono- 
graphs and  cinemas. 

Individual  Gifts  are  given  to  men  who  have  distinguished  them- 
selves, or  who  have  suffered  unusually.  These  include  books,  prizes,  etc., 
etc.,  and  for  certain  discharged  convalescents  cash  to  help  them  through 
the  first  days  of  their  final  recovery. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  stations  supported  wholly  or 
in  part  by  the  A.  R.  C,  with  short  statements  of  the  nature  of  the  work 

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carried  on  in  each,  and  the  approximate  numbers  of  men  assisted  through 
them. 

Le  Havre.  The  Mess  at  Sainte-Adresse  which  supplies  250  or  300 
meals  a  day  to  workers  in  the  munition  factories. 

The  Library  at  Graville  is  nearly  completed  and  its  300  places  will 
probably  accommodate  600  readers  or  letter  writers  daily. 

The  small  Mess  for  Soldiers  of  the  Intendence  at  Le  Havre  provides 
sixty  meals  a  day  and  supplies  simple  facilities  for  reading  and  w riting. 

Fecamp.  I  [ere  the  Soldiers'  Club  is  helped  financially.  It  com- 
prises an  infirmary  of  ten  beds,  a  gymnasium,  an  orchestra,  a  theatre,  and 
a  library  of  200  books.  It  entertains  in  one  way  or  another  some  400  men 
a  day. 

Dieppe  has  also  a  military  club  assisted  by  the  A.  R.  C,  similar  to 
that  at  Fecamp,  except  that  a  magic-lantern  and  lectures  take  the  place  of 
the  music.   This  is  larger  and  serves  about  1,000  men  a  day. 

A  second  club  run  by  the  chaplain,  which  receives  on  an  average  600 
men  a  day,  has  been  given  books,  games,  etc. 

Calais.  The  work  here  is  divided  under  four  heads,  as  four  sep- 
arate groups  of  men  are  assisted. 

The  Depot  des  Equipages  (School  of  Naval  Gunners),  with  400 
members,  is  helped  with  a  dining-hall,  library,  billiard  tables,  foot-balls 
and  other  sport  articles,  and  shower  baths. 

The  Naval  Base  with  600  men  is  helped  with  sporting  articles  and 
books. 

The  2,000  men  of  the  Service  de  l'lntendence  have  been  assisted 
with  furnishings  for  their  canteen,  sporting  articles,  a  phonograph  and 
books.    A  large  room  for  supplying  meals  cheaply  is  under  construction. 

Finally  Mine.  Hemptinne's  interesting  work  for  permissionnaires  has 
been  assisted.  Large  barracks  have  been  built  to  provide  sleeping  accom- 
modations for  the  groups  of  200  who  spend  one  night  at  Calais  on  their 
way  to  England. 

Auvour.  The  recreation  center  at  this  important  camp  has  been 
supplied  with  canteen  furnishings,  sporting  articles,  and  books,  so  that 
between  500  and  600  men  are  served  each  day. 

He  deCezambre.  Through  the  Chaplain,  the  inmates  of  the  Bel- 
gian military  prison  are  supplied  with  books  and  games,  such  as  cards, 
chess  and  dominoes.    Some  hundred  men  are  helped  in  this  way. 

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La  Panne.  The  large  library  with  its  canteen  and  writing  room  has 
been  very  greatly  helped  with  books.  About  1.500  men  use  it  daily,  and 
when  the  additions  are  completed,  approximately  2.000  men  will  avail 
themselves  of  it. 

Isenberghe.  The  second  large  library  at  the  front  is  here.  It  has 
been  supplied  with  books,  and  a  cinema  is  being  installed  which  will  ac- 
commodate 1,000  men  a  day.  From  500  to  600  are  using  the  reading- 
room  and  canteen. 

Bulscamp.  The  "Centres  Cinetnatique"  at  this  camp  has  been  giv  en 
a  cinema  which,  with  its  two  sittings,  accommodates  600  men  a  day. 

Hoogstade.  The  Theatre  de  la  Rade  has  received  a  cinema  which 
entertains  an  audience  of  3,000  daily. 

Hondschoote.  The  cinema,  in  a  smaller  hall,  throws  pictures  Eol 
800  men  a  day. 

Wulpen.  Four  hundred  men  daily  see  the  films  of  the  cinema 
which  the  A.  R.  C.  has  installed. 

Wulveringhem,  Eggwaertscapelle  and  Oostvleeteren  arc  being 
installed  with  cinemas  for  daily  audiences  of  1,200,  3,000  and  3,000  re- 
spectively. 

Rouen.  A  Foyer  du  Soldat  Beige  is  subsidized  which  has  on  an 
average  80  soldiers  en  permission. 

Petit-Couronne,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Rouen,  is  the  establishment 
where  150  permissionnaires  without  homes  to  go  to  come  for  their  vaca- 
tion and  earn  money  by  farm  work  and  market  gardening. 

Paris.  A  number  of  Belgian  and  Franco- Belgian  organizations  in 
this  city  are  assisted  by  the  Commission  for  Belgium. 

The  Cantine,  Gare  du  Nord,  which  serves  many  Belgians  among  its 
1,200  to  1.500  daily  guests,  receives  financial  support. 

The  Conge  du  Soldat  Beige  is  able  to  take  150  Belgian  soldiers  a 
month  for  furloughs  in  Paris  with  the  grant  which  it  receives  from  the 
A.  R.  C. 

The  Restaurant  Militaire,  rue  Mazagran,  has  been  completely  in- 
stalled and  meets  its  own  expenses  for  the  400  meals  served  daily. 

The  Foyer  du  Soldat  Beige,  with  its  three  lodging  houses  and  din- 
ing-halls,  is  heavily  subsidized.  It  has  sleeping  accommodations  for  400 
men,  and  about  1.000  meals  are  served. 

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To  this  list  should  be  added  certain  organizations  whose  action  is 
general  and  not  confined  to  particular  localities. 

Recreation  tents  have  been  supplied  on  a  large  scale.  Every  batal- 
Iion  is  being  given  a  10  x  30  meter  tent,  where  at  least  500  men  per  day 
come  in  to  write  or  rest.  At  present  12.500  men  are  thus  sheltered  daily, 
and  this  number  will  be  doubled  when  the  programme  is  completed. 

Athletic  Competitions.  This  work  which  stimulates  the  soldiers 
physically  and  mentally  is  of  increasing  importance.  As  a  preliminary  to 
both  large  and  small  competitions,  the  prizes  are  sent  ahead  and  exhibited. 
In  the  larger  or  regimental  competitions,  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
men  enter,  at  least  2,000  taking  part  per  regiment.  Among  the  events  are 
football,  "ballc-pclote,"  rifle  and  machine  gun  shooting  and  foot  races. 
There  are  also  company  competitions,  and  companies  as  well  as  clubs  and 
rest  stations  are  fitted  out  with  athletic  goods. 

Books.  The  library  system  is  very  complete.  There  are  the  two 
large  central  libraries  at  La  Panne  and  Isenberghe  already  mentioned. 
These  have  a  wide  selection  for  the  soldiers  "en  repos."  There  are  also 
800  cases  of  100  books  each — a  case  for  each  battery  or  company— for 
men  "en  demi  repos."  These  two  libraries  are  supplemented  by  the 
"Livre  du  Soldat  Relge,"  a  society  subsidized  by  the  A.  R.  C,  which  sup- 
plies every  soldier  with  a  book  which  he  chooses  himself,  and  keeps  as  his 
own.  If  he  wishes  to  change  it,  it  goes  into  one  of  the  two  large  libraries, 
and  the  society  buys  him  the  other  book  which  he  wishes.  This  compre- 
hensive scheme  supplies  the  men  "en  repos"  with  a  very  large  choice  of 
books,  those  on  duty,  but  with  some  spare  time,  with  a  selection  of  100, 
and  the  man  in  the  trenches  with  a  book  in  his  pocket  which  is  his  own 
property.  Probably  30,000  books  are  out  of  these  libraries,  if  not  actually 
being  read,  every  day. 

Entertainments.  The  American  Red  Cross  pays  expenses  with  the 
exception  of  board  and  transportation  of  the  actors  and  musicians  who  are 
sent  to  give  entertainments  to  the  soldiers  at  the  front.  "Several  hundred 
men  are  entertained  every  day  by  each  troupe. 

Cinemas  are  operating  in  seven  centers,  delighting  thousands  daily ; 
more  are  being  installed  as  occasion  offers.  The  Red  Cross  not  only  pays 
for  the  plant,  but  helps  to  rent  films  and  meet  operating  expenses. 

Phonographs,  after  cinemas,  are  the  most  popular  source  of  amuse- 
ment, and  over  forty  have  already  been  supplied  to  the  smaller  centres. 

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Individual  Gifts  are  distributed  chiefly  to  two  categories  of  men. 
some  small  object,  averaging  a  dollar  in  price,  is  sent  by  the  society  con- 
trolling this  work  as  a  gift  of  the  American  Red  Cross,  and  its  recognition 
of  their  services,  to  all  soldiers  decorated  or  cited  in  army  orders.  This 
has  proved  a  great  stimulus  and  a  source  of  pleasure  to  the  men.  The 
second  glass  comprises  the  severely  wounded  in  the  hospitals.  Practically 
6,000  men  a  month  receive  gifts  which  include  the  most  varied  articles. 
In  addition  to  these  two  classes,  nearly  every  request  coming  from  the  men 
directly,  or  through  their  officers,  is  granted.  Lanterns,  special  cooking 
utensils,  small  showers,  are  included  among  the  gifts,  as  well  as  cards, 
games,  pipes,  etc. ;  350  to  400  gifts  of  Fr.  1.25  are  given  monthly  to  needy 
soldiers. 

Educational  Programme.  A  large  and  valuable  educational  work 
is  being  carried  on  through  the  "Relgische  Standaard."  Sixteen  reading- 
rooms  are  maintained  in  Free  Belgium  and  Northern  France,  special 
dramatic  and  literary  libraries  have  been  formed,  and  stereopticon  lec- 
tures are  provided.  The  educational  work  in  the  narrower  sense  of  the 
term,  is  divided  into  primary  courses  (5,000  students),  which  arc  given 
directly.  Correspondence  courses  prepare  pupils  for  State  examinations 
(1.200  pupils),  and  for  professional  work  (650  students),  including  me- 
chanics, metallurgy,  wood-working  and  type-setting.  Art  is  encouraged 
by  exhibitions  and  800  men  are  studying  philosophy  and  theology.  Thus, 
7,650  students  are  regularly  enrolled.  The  society  not  only  supplies 
teachers  and  courses,  but  paper,  pens,  books,  etc.,  etc.,  and  in  addition 
does  welfare  work  by  distributing  tobacco,  soap,  footballs,  accordeons, 
chocolate,  cards  and  writing  paper. 

CIVIL  HOSPITALS. 

In  time  of  war,  civil  hospitals  are  overshadowed  by  military  estab- 
lishments, but  if  they  are  not  maintained  at  high  standard  such  neglect 
endangers  the  health  of  armies  and  breaks  down  morale  both  civil  and 
military. 

Seven  civil  hospitals  have  received  help  from  us : 

The  civil  hospital  at  Leysele  in  Free  Blegium,  and  the  maternity 
hospital  at  Rousbrugge,  both  under  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  the 
Hospital  Elizabeth  at  Couthove  and  Poperinghc  under  the  Countess  Van 
den  Steen,  the  Hospital  Alexandra  at  Dunkirk  under  the  English  Friends, 

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the  projected  refugee  hospital  at  Le  Havre,  under  the  Belgian  Govern- 
ment, of  which  we  will  bear  the  full  expense,  the  hospital  at  Chartreuse 
and  the  hospital  at  Ebblinghem. 

We  have  helped  remove  and  rebuild  and  enlarge  the  hospital  at  Dun- 
kirk, in  constant  danger  from  bombs,  and  to  reestablish  it  at  Petite  Synthe, 
where  we  are  assisting  in  its  maintenance. 

These  hospitals  have  a  capacity  for  about  1,500  patients. 

REFUGEES. 

The  refugees  themselves  have  largely  solved  the  refugee  problem. 
The  vast  majority,  driven  from  their  homes,  have  assumed  full  respon- 
sibility for  their  own  lives.  Belgians  went  back  to  Belgium,  or  found 
work  in  munition  plants,  on  the  farms  and  roads,  or  as  domestic  servants. 
Those  to  be  cared  for  are  the  old,  the  sick,  the  criminal,  the  children,  the 
wounded,  or  those  overtaken  with  sudden  calamity,  such  as  is  caused  by 
shelling  or  bombing. 

Clothing.  We  have  furnished  clothing  to  refugee  committees  at 
Havre,  Rouen  and  Montreuil,  and  to  La  Panne  and  Leysele  in  Free  Bel- 
gium. W'e  have  given  blankets  to  committees  dealing  with  refugees  en 
route.    Probably  30,000  people  have  been  helped. 

Transportation.  Evacuation  of  refugees  is  one  of  the  things  inci- 
dent to  every  great  movement  of  the  Armies.  The  camions  of  the  Com- 
mission for  Belgium  are  operated  by  young  English  Friends.  They  have 
been  working  steadily  since  the  great  German  drive  began,  taking  people 
from  isolated  villages  to  entraining  points.  Twenty  thousand  people  have 
been  moved  from  points  of  great  danger  to  places  where  the  machinery 
of  the  Government  could  reach  and  send  them  away. 

Housing.  W'e  are  building  on  one  of  the  hills  of  Havre  a  village  for 
refugees  crowded  in  slum  shelters  in  the  city.  Provision  is  now  being 
made  for  600  people. 

The  Douane.  By  paying  duties  amounting  to  Frs.  20.000  per  month 
on  foods  imported  into  France,  we  have  extended  the  benefits  of  64  co- 
operative stores  to  20,000  Belgian  refugees,  all  families  of  men  fighting 
at  the  front,  dead  for  their  country  or  prisoners  in  Germany.  We  have 
saved  in  this  way  for  these  most  needy  of  all  refugee  families  1,000.000 
francs  per  month.  Three  elements  make  the  low  prices  of  these  stores 
possible:  Purchase  in  large  quantities;  no  profit ;  no  duty. 

10 


Oeuvres  for  Refugees.  We  have  helped  establish  an  ouvroir  in 
London  for  400  Belgian  women  sewing"  for  the  Belgian  Government.  We 
have  given  help  to  many  other  agencies  working  for  refugees,  including 
the  Comite  Official  Beige  with  180  sub-committees  and  agencies  in  France. 

Emergency  Assistance.  We  have  provided  for  first  aid  to  families 
bombed  or  shelled  through  the  Commissaires  d'Arrondissement  of  Fumes 
and  Ypres  and  through  societies  like  the  "Societe  du  Secours  Immediate 
aux  Victimes  des  Bombardements"  at  Calais. 

Food  Supplies.  At  Adinkerke,  in  Free  Belgium,  this  Commission 
has  built  nine  small  Warehouses  for  food  reserves.  Originally  intended 
for  revictualling  of  occupied  Belgium,  these  supplies  are  being  used  for 
refugees  since  the  last  German  drive. 

Temporary  Shelter.  The  Children's  Colon]  at  Leysele  in  Free 
Belgium,  just  approaching  completion  when  the  great  drive  began,  was 
turned  into  a  refugee  clearing  station.  Two  hundred  are  cared  for  at  one 
time  and  many  times  that  number  have  had  temporary  care. 

In  addition  to  the  work  for  Belgian  refugees,  the  Commission  for 
Belgium,  because  of  its  strategic  position,  has  found  it  necessary  to  ex- 
tend its  help  to  French  refugees  as  well.  The  assistance  has  taken  the 
form  of  providing  blankets,  clothing  and  food,  and  of  assisting  the  proper 
French  Committees  with  financial  contributions. 

Clothing  for  Discharged  Soldiers.  Soldiers  wi  n  are  discharged 
from  service  because  of  disability,  immediately  become  civilians— they  are 
no  longer  permitted  to  wear  the  military  uniform.  Large  numbers  of  them 
have  no  means  with  which  to  buy  civilian  clothing,  and  as  they  have  been 
in  the  service  for  several  years,  they  have  not  been  able  to  preserve  such 
civilian  apparel  as  they  possessed  before  the  war.  A  very  real  need  has 
been  shown  to  exist  for  assistance  to  these  men  and  the  Commission  for 
Belgium  has  accordingly  undertaken  to  provide  necessary  civilian  clothes 
for  men  who  are  not  able  to  obtain  such  articles  for  themselves.  The 
number  of  men  thus  provided  with  clothing  from  the  Red  Cross  amounts 
to  approximately  300  per  month. 

CHILDREN. 

The  lot  of  Belgian  children  is  peculiarly  hard;  wifh  their  families 
refugees  and  their  fathers  in  the  army,  the  means  of  giving  them  proper 
care  have  been  reduced  to  a  minimum,  especially  in  the  small  section  of 

11 


Belgium  still  held  by  the  Belgian  Army,  the  children  have  been  subjected 
to  great  hardship  and  constant  danger.  While  it  is  sad  to  see  men 
wounded  by  shell  and  bomb,  it  is  still  more  tragic  and  pathetic  to  find 
little  children  torn  and  mangled  by  the  shells  and  bombs  which  the  enemy 
has  thrown  upon  Belgian  territory.  Many  children  and  mothers  have 
been  killed  and  many  others  wounded. 

Especial  efforts  have  been  made  to  rescue  as  many  as  possible  of 
these  children  from  the  dangerous  and  difficult  position  which  they  occupy 
in  Belgium. 

The  work  in  behalf  of  Belgian  children  undertaken  by  the  Commis- 
sion for  Belgium,  follows  four  important  lines: 

(a)  Evacuation  from  zones  of  gas  and  shell  attack. 

(b)  Evacuation  from  the  semi-famine  conditions  of  occupied 

Belgium. 

(c)  Baby-saving  work  in  congested  refugee  centres. 

(d)  Baby-saving  work  at  the  front. 

The  Belgian  Government,  through  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  has 
evacuated  over  7,000  children  from  places  of  danger  in  Free  Belgium, 
and  is  caring  for  them  in  Colonies  Scolaircs  in  old  Normandy,  along  the 
coast,  and  in  the  country  around  Paris. 

This  burden  has  become  too  heavy  for  the  Minister  to  bear,  and  the 
Commission  for  Belgium  has  therefore  been  helping  during  the  past  eight 
months.  It  has  furnished  barracks,  clothing,  blankets,  shoes,  extra  food, 
games,  sewing  machines,  books,  tools  and  cows. 

It  has  built  and  equipped  a  colony  in  Free  Belgium  for  300  or  400 
additional  children,  whose  parents  will  not  permit  them  to  be  sent  into 
France. 

The  Queen  of  Belgium  has  taken  the  lead  in  this  work  at  the  front, 
and  the  Commission  for  Belgium  has  built  and  furnished  an  additional 
pavilion  for  her  colony  at  Vincken  to  care  for  very  young  children. 

The  evacuation  of  children  from  occupied  Belgium  likewise  has  been 
undertaken  first  under  the  leadership  of  the  Queen,  and,  second,  in  co- 
operation with  the  Minister  of  the  Interior.   The  children  on  coming  out 

do  not  look  emaciated,  but  are  undernourished,  and  in  many  instances 
i 

suffer  from  rickets  and  lack  stamina.  Especially  children  from  four  to 
eight  years  old  have  suffered  severely.  In  the  lovely  hill  country  of  Cor- 
reze,  at  I.e  Glandier,  Her  Majesty's  representative  found  an  old  Carthu- 

12 


sian  monastery  which  the  Commission  for  Belgium  has  turned  into  a 
beautiful  home  for  750  children  from  the  Walloon  part  of  Belgium.  Eng- 
lish Friends  and  young  Americans  help  in  the  teaching,  and  a  high 
standard  is  maintained.  Five  other  suitable  locations  have  been  obtained 
in  southern  France,  and  the  children  are  coming  in  through  Germany  and 
Switzerland  to  fill  them. 

At  Recques,  near  Montrcuil,  in  a  beautiful  chateau,  and  in  barracks 
under  the  famous  old  trees,  the  Commission  has  completed  arrangements 
to  care  for  500  additional  children,  to  be  brought  out  of  occupied  Belgium 
by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  as  soon  as  the  front  is  open.  Approxi- 
mately a  million  francs  have  been  spent  for  the  children  from  occupied 
Belgium,  which  now  number  over  2,000  and  will  steadily  increase. 

At  Le  Havre,  where  there  is  a  refugee  population  of  15,000,  and 
very  bad  housing  conditions,  the  Commission  has  established  a  health 
centre  containing  a  children's  dispensary,  a  creche,  a  pouponniere,  and  a 
baby  hospital,  as  the  beginning  of  a  campaign  to  save  Belgian  babies. 
This  centre  has  a  capacity  of  300  children  while  the  dispensary  will  reach 
many  hundreds  monthly. 

At  the  front,  where  armies  crowd  every  little  Flemish  village,  seize 
whole  school  buildings,  requisition  food,  and  cause  inevitable  disarrange- 
ment and  demoralization,  the  mortality  among  babies  is  high.  Under  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  with  the  English  Friends,  the  Commission 
for  Belgium  has  begun  a  work  of  infant  consultations  and  milk  distribu- 
tion in  the  English  sector. 

Under  the  same  leadership,  and  with  local  committees,  it  has  pro- 
moted and  extended  the  infant  consultations  in  the  French  and  Belgian 
sectors.  We  propose  to  continue  and  expand  this  work.  We  believe  that, 
after  the  care  of  the  wounded,  the  saving  of  the  lives  of  the  children  is 
the  great  duty  of  the  American  Red  Cross. 


13 


LIST  OF  BELGIAN  CHILDREN'S  COLONIES. 
Paris  Group: 

Arromanches, 
Bayonne, 
Chevilly 

(Convent  des  Peres), 

(Couvent  des  Soeurs), 
Fontenay-aux-Koses, 
Grignon-Orly, 
Le  Vesinet, 
Nanterre,  . 
Paris,  8  rue  dc  Vouilli, 
St.  Germain-en-Laye, 
Saint  Ouen, 


Versailles, 
Ballainvilliers, 
Bougival, 
Garches, 

La  Celle  St.  Cloud, 
Monsoult, 

Paris,  67  rue  de  la  Sante, 
Reuil, 
Sarcelles, 
Sevres, 
Viroflay. 


Normandy  Group: 

Bacqueville, 
Caudebec-en-Caux, 
Gommeville, 
Grosfys, 

Ouville  l'Abbaye, 
Preaux, 

Sainte  Aubin  Branville, 
St.  Jacques  s/Dacnetal, 
St.  Paer, 

Ste.  Marguerite  VarengeviUe, 

Sassctot  Mauconduit, 

Yvetot, 

Veulettes, 

Campeaux, 

Calais  Group: 

Calais  (Casino),  (Brighton), 

Montreuil, 

I  'ourville, 


Criquetot  s/Ouville, 

Grandes  Dalles, 

Malaise, 

Petites  Dalles, 

Sainte  Aubin  Epinay, 

St.  Illiers  le  Bois, 

St.  Louis  de  la  Mulotiere, 

St.  Valery-en-Caux, 

Saussay, 

Valmont, 

Grandes  Yentes, 

Recques, 

Largentiere. 


Merlemont, 
Puys. 


In  addition  to  the  care  of  Belgian  children,  the  Commission  for 
Belgium  is  assisting  in  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  a  large  creche 
for  the  children  of  French  women  who  are  employed  in  munition  fac- 
tories at  Havre.   This  creche  will  accommodate  75  children. 

14 


WORK  FOR  BELGIAN  CHILDREN  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

This  work  falls  into  two  divisions : 

(1)  The  American  Red  Cross,  by  arrangement  with  the  Rocktf tiler 
Foundtaion,  has  taken  over  the  direction  of  their  work  for  Belgian  chil- 
dren. The  Foundation  continues  its  grant  of  $53,000  per  year  and  the 
American  Red  Cross  is  giving  an  additional  subsidy  of  Frs.  30,000  a 
month  to  cover  the  increased  cost  of  maintenance.  There  are  500  chil- 
dren in  all,  the  first  300  from  free,  the  other  200  from  occupied  Belgium. 
Three-fifths  of  these  children  are  cared  for  in  five  colonies  founded  by 
the  Swiss  Committee  which  manages  all  the  details  of  the  work.  These 
colonies  are  at  Fribourg  (Villa  Guinzet,  the  New  Villa,  and  Villars-les- 
Joncs),  at  the  chateau  of  Vaulruz  near  Bulle,  and  at  Leysin  (Villa  Edel- 
weiss for  tuberculous  children).  The  rest  are  placed  in  smaller  groups 
in  convents  or  special  schools. 

(2)  The  American  Red  Cross  has  given  Frs.  15,000  to  the  "Comile 
Central  Suisse  pour  les  Refngies  Beiges"  to  be  sent  at  their  direction,  but 
with  the  suggestion  that  it  benefit  children,  and  more  especially  secure 
the  necessary  treatment,  often  beyond  the  committee's  ordinary  means, 
required  by  sufferers  from  tuberculosis. 


IS 


